Some Things Never Change
by chloedouble1028
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, ten years after they graduate high school. Clark calls Chloe, needing her help again. No matter how much she wants to say no she can't. How will this turn out? And what exactly is in that little black box? Will Chloe survive the night?


**Title : **Some Things Never Change

**Author : **Erin/chloedouble1028

**Description :** It's Christmas Eve, ten years after they graduated high school. Clark calls Chloe, he needs her, again. But this time, helping him may cost her more than she could ever imagine. But no matter how much she tells herself to tell him no, she can't, because some things never change.

**Characters : **Chloe

**Inspiration : **What happened during my Christmas this year.

**Reason : **I couldn't get the plot out of my head, I had to write it, I had to.

**Some Things Never Change**

I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, hard. "Damnit," I screamed. The snow was piling up outside, so fast I could hardly see. Trying one more time, I pressed my foot to the gas pedal, lightly at first, trying to ease out of this damn ditch. When that didn't work I floored the fricken thing, which, obviously, didn't work either. My head slowly sank, resting my forehead against the hardness of white knuckles clenched around the steering wheel, I tried to breathe. Just to breathe.

How had I ended up here? Stuck in the middle of a ditch, at four A.M. on Christmas Day, in the middle of the worst blizzard to hit Smallville in the whole time I'd lived in this godforsaken cow-town. I looked outside once more, and then I looked at the small black box sitting on the passenger seat next to me. I shook my head, no Chloe don't do it, don't even think about it... "Oh, hell," I said. Grabbing my gloves, shoving the box in my pocket, I zipped up my coat, and opened the door.

I got out, having to shove my way through knee-high snow to get to the road. Walking down the middle, or at least what I thought was the middle, of the road, I crossed my arms in front of me and started what I could only call trudging through the ever increasing amount of snow covering the road. Pulling my hat down to cover my ears I wished for the umpteenth time that I had a hood...and thicker gloves...and warmer clothes...and a car... Shit, how did I get here again?

Looking off into the distance I tried to spot lights, but all I saw was snow, and more snow. Oh yea, lights, as in the lights on the Kent farm. Right, right, as in Clark Kent. Oh, duh, he's the reason I'm out here, of course, him and the little black box in my pocket. Well, what else was there do, I was at least a mile from his house, if not more. I might as well go back over every damn thing that went wrong , and try to figure out why I went through all this hell just for him.

_Ring...ring...ring..._

_Damnit, I told everyone I was going to be gone this weekend, in Metropolis, with Lois. Now, she was at a party, with Clark and Lana no less, which I had opted out of, pulling out every excuse in the book just to get her to let me stay home alone with just myself and the T.V. Man! I thought I'd turned off my cellphone. Getting up off the couch slowly, I set the bowl of popcorn on the floor and went to grab my phone out of my purse. I looked at the caller ID, damn, it's Clark. Ignore it Chloe, go back to your movie, just ignore him. _

_"Hey Clark," I said into the phone. If he heard the tiredness of my voice, he didn't care. _

_"Uh, hey Chloe, how's your Christmas Eve going?" God how dumb did he think I was? I could hear the anxiety and hesitation in his voice through the static. _

_"Did you need something Clark?" I tried to keep the bite out of my voice I really did, but I don't think it worked too well. Turns out it didn't matter because he didn't notice anyway. As if he ever noticed anything. _

_"Well, umm...I don't know...maybe..." _

_"Clark just spit it out!" Then everything was silent, all I could hear was the TV in the other room. Oh, hell. Here it comes, his wounded voice, the one he gets when he's trying not to let on that I hurt him. Oh God, and after that comes me saying I'm sorry and me feeling horrible and oh hell. _

_"Umm, are you busy Chloe? I'll just go... " I scrunched my eyes closed, running a hand through my hair, and leaning back against the kitchen counter for support. Tell him you're busy, tell him good-bye. _

_"Sorry, Clark I didn't mean to snap at you." _

_"That's okay Chloe, no big deal." Okay, now tell him good-bye, you apologized, tell him see ya later. _

_"So umm, what did you need Clark?" _

_"You know the ring I bought for Lana?" Of course, how could I forget. You damn bastard, you came over here and had me approve it and try it on just to make sure it would fit her and you didn't even notice the bloody marks on my hands. Bloody indents in my palms because I was clenching my fists so tight to keep from crying as you told me how you were going to propose that my nails broke skin, drew blood, but you didn't notice. I shouldn't have expected you to notice, some things never change._

_"Uh, yeah Clark I know, what about it? You were proposing tomorrow night right? Don't tell me you've got cold feet?" My voice had a teasing tone to it, but it was fake, as were my smiles and cheerful words of congragulations, but of course, he didn't pick up on the falseness of it all. There was a pause on his end. Don't listen to me Clark, tell me you have cold feet. Tell me you've decided not to go through with it. Tell me it was all pretend and that ring was for me. Tell me it's me you want to spend forever with, not her. _

_"Umm, well I kinda left it at the Planet." Oh, God. _

_"So you want me to go and get it for you?" Say no, just say no Clark. _

_"Umm...well, kinda, yea, if you don't mind." Yes I mind, I mind a hell of a lot actually Clark. I mind so much I am contemplating just hanging up on you right now, leave you to figure out your own damn problems for once. _

_"Of course not, it's no big deal. I'll just go grab it and bring it over to Lex's apartment, that's where the party is right?" _

_"Well yeah, that's where the party is...but the thing is...umm, me and Lana...we kinda left the party..." _

_"So where are you then?" There was a longer pause. Oh God, don't say it, Clark I swear if you say it I will hang up. You can't possibly be in-_

_"Smallville." Shit. Damn you Clark, how the hell am I supposed to drive out to Smallville? "We left the party about three hours ago, and we just got here." You don't really expect me to drive out to Smallville for you do you Clark? _

_"What are you doing there?" _

_"Well, I thought it would be romantic if I proposed in the loft, where we had our first kiss." I suppose you've forgotten that that is also where **we **had **our **first kiss. It was my first kiss, and it was your first kiss, and it was our first kiss. And that was the day I fell, and I haven't been able to get back up since. _

_"Uh, yeah Clark, that is really romantic." God Clark, how can you be so sensitive to her needs and so clueless when it comes to me? My free hand gripped the counter so hard I thought my fingers were going to break. Don't cry Chloe, whatever you do, don't cry._

_"You know I would get it myself, but I gave up my powers for her you know." Yeah Clark, I know, you gave up a part of yourself so you could be around her more, so you could be there for her, so you wouldn't have to lie anymore. You don't have to remind me. You don't have to remind me how I would have taken you as you were, how I loved all of you. You don't have to break my heart anymore than you already have. Gripping the phone tighter I bit my lip, trying to use the physical pain as a distraction from my aching heart. Don't cry Chloe, don't let him make you cry._

_"Yeah Clark I know..." A tear slid down my cheek, burning a trail into my pale skin. I didn't even bother to wipe it away, because if I did, more would take its place._

_"So do you think you could get it for me?" There was so much hopefulness, so much clueless innocence in his voice, just like always, I guess some things never change. Tell him no Chloe. Tell him hell no, you're not going to drive three hours just to get him a ring so he can permanently break you into a thousand pieces the day he says 'I do.' Go ahead, tell him. _

_"Sure Clark, of course I can do that for you. It's not like I'm doing anything. Besides, what are friends for?" He missed that last bit of sarcasm, he always does, that will never change. _

_"Thank you so much Chloe! You are a complete lifesaver! I owe you so much!" You had better bet that gorgeous smile and those sky blue eyes you owe me Kent. You owe me so much I should start charging interest. And you know, the evil side of me is starting to grow, I just might demand that penance in the form of sexual favors. Oh yes Clark, I said sex. _

_"You don't owe me anything Clark..." _

_"You are the best Chloe, thanks so much! Well Lana's calling from downstairs, I have to go, thanks again Chloe, bye." _

_"Bye," I said, but it didn't matter, the only response I heard was the annoying ring of the dialtone. _

_Slowly setting the phone down, I glanced at the clock, 10:28. Shit. I took a breath. Just breathe Chloe, you can do this, you can, just breathe. I went and changed, grabbing my purse, phone, gloves, and coat as I headed out the door five minutes later. I spent the walk to my car telling myself to turn around. Go back Chloe, just call him and tell him you can't do it, you won't do it. Turn around Chloe, go back inside. _

_Ten minutes later I was at the Planet, parking my car, wondering why I was doing this. I rummaged through my purse hurridly. Oh shit! God don't do this to me, not now! My keys were gone, I must have left them in my office again. How the hell I was going to get into the building? As I got out, I looked up to the top floors, where his office was. Yes! A light was on! Quickly doing some mental calculations I groaned, pulling out my phone. That was Billy Webber's office. He had invited me over to his place more times than I can remember, and I guarantee you it wasn't to play cards. I called his office phone, come on, pick up Billy, pick up! _

_"Hello?" _

_"Hey! Hey Billy this is Chloe!"_

_"Chloe? What's up?" _

_"I left something here, I'm outside, can you come down and open up the doors for me please?" _

_"Uh, yeah, sure..."_

_"Great, thanks, bye." _

_Fantastic, this is going better than expected. Oh don't kid yourself, it'll be at least three in the morning before you get to Smallville. Don't forget to grab some coffee before you hit the road Sullivan. I ran to the door, only having to wait a few minutes for him to open the door. He opens it and immediately starts firing questions at me, I just ignore him, running for the elevator. The whole way up, the quick walk to Clark's office, he just won't shut up. I search frantically through Clark's desk, throwing papers this way and that. Until finally, in the bottom drawer, I see a black jewelry box. Turning to the doorway, I find it blocked by Billy's rather large football shoulders. _

_"Move Billy," I order, all of my patience completely gone. For a second he looks as if he's about to move, but then he stops. _

_"No, not until you tell me what's going on." I didn't have time to give him a damn explanation. My mind raced frantically, bringing up and discarding ways out of the room until finally there was only one desperate solution left. Clark you owe me so big. Sauntering over to Billy, I pull his mouth down to mine and kiss him. I push him back while he's momentarily stunned by my forward action. As soon as he's out of the doorway I break the kiss, running as fast as my heels allowed, running out of there like the devil was on my tail. _

_I got in my car while wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Disgusting. Remember those sexual favors I was talking about Clark? Yeah, well guess what, now you have the job of replacing the taste of his lips, with the far more satisfying taste of yours. It's been too long since I've tasted those lips of yours Clarkie boy...way too long. I was on the highway now, heading to Smallville. Shit, I forgot my coffee, what else could go wrong? _

_At least I still had the radio, flipping it on I surfed the stations until I found a good one. There was a small slice of time in that drive when I was at peace, I was helping out a friend, this was a good thing. I knew I was lying to myself, I could feel my heart breaking. But the music was helping, loud enough to drown out my sorrows. Then came the static, at first it was just annoying, a little blip in the music every now and then. Slowly, however, it increased in intensity to the point where I had to shut the radio off altogether. The static turned out to be foreshadowing something much worse. Much, much worse. _

_First there was only a few snowflakes, which got me thinking, oh, how nice that it's going to be snowing on Christmas, even more romantic for Clark. But, those thoughts soon vanish as the snow comes down faster, harder. Soon I can barely see the road ten feet in front of me, and the lights of other cars begin to disappear as well, though I suspect that is because they're getting off on the various exits, not because of the snow. _

_Come on Chloe, you're going to kill yourself in this weather. Look, there's an exit, just take it. Go find some place that serves coffee at this hour, just hole up until the storm passes. You can always take the ring to him in the morning. Chloe take the exit, take the exit. Clark will understand, he wouldn't want you to end up on the side of the road somewhere when you lose control of your car. Take the exit. _

_Almost four hours later, I see the Smallville exit. Taking it gladly, I look at the clock for what must have been the billionth time since I started out on this miserable mission. It's three thirty in the damn morning. The trip took me an hour longer than usual because I had to slow down the whole way here. Now I had to try to get to Clark's house, on back country roads, in what had become a blizzard. This was going to be so much fun. _

_After what seemed like forever I was finally on the road to Clark's house, I had to be almost there. I could practically imagine the farm when suddenly I hit ice. "Shit!" I tried to get the car back under control but I was spinning so fast I didn't know which way to turn the wheel. The world blurred outside, the view out the windshield becoming nothing but white. Then my entire body was yanked backward brutally as my car apparently ended up backwards in a ditch. _

_Breathe Chloe, just breathe, you're fine, you're fine. I moved all my extremeties just to be sure that none of them were injured in any way, namely broken. When I was satisfied with that, I felt the back of my throbbing head. I could feel a lump and a bruise forming from where my head had collided with the back of the seat. Fantastic Sullivan, just great, you should never have come here, you should have told him no. _

_I tried to get the wheels to grip the ground by pressing the gas down slowly. But they were resting on nothing but snow and just spun uselessly until I gave up. So Sullivan, what now? I felt the tears coming, the lump in my throat painful as I tried to swallow. Damnit Clark!_

Well, now I was freezing, the snow clinging to every inch of me and melting if it hit the very little skin that was exposed, consisting of my face. So why'd you do it Chloe? You should be back at Lois' apartment right now, eating chocolate and drinking the vodka she hid from you. Because then you wouldn't be here, unable to feel your toes and fingers. The snow I was walking through had to be at least a foot deep, I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this up.

Then, salvation. I saw lights in the distance, maybe two hundred yards away. Hope quickened my pace, giving collapsing muscles new energy as the strength of the lights grew. Finally I made it to his driveway, God Clark why does your driveway have to be so damn long? I was almost to the house when my legs gave out beneath me, finally spent. I lay in the snow for a few minutes, unable to move.

Breathe Chloe, you're almost there, you can do this. Just breathe... I took a deep breath and I slowly got my legs under me. Pure willpower got me to my feet, got me to the house, got me around to the backdoor. No lights were on in the house, and no wonder, it had to be at least five in the morning. Opening the door, I winced as it creaked on old hinges. Once inside I took off my shoes, those heels clacking would surely wake up everyone.

My socks, soaked through, left wet footprints on the floor. Lana must still be here, meaning she would be sleeping in Clark's room, on his bed, while he would be sleeping - I turned the corner and looked into the living room - on the couch. His chest rose and fell with each breath, his skin lit from the glow of a fire in the fireplace. It must be warmer in here than I could feel because he didn't have a shirt on.

Taking my gloves off, I warmed my hands by the fire for a moment. Once they had the slightest bit of feeling in them, I turned back to Clark. My fingers twitched, my hand reaching out to him. Don't do it Chloe, just tap him on the shoulder. Forget it Chloe, don't even think about it. Don't do it Sullivan.

Fingers brush across his forehead, pushing the hair out of his eyes. They linger there, marveling over the feeling of thick silk his hair provided. My eyes traveled over his face, harmless enough, but then, he licks his lips and my eyes are drawn there. Don't do it Chloe, don't even think about it. Forget it Chloe, just forget it. I lean in, unable to stop myself, this would be my last chance, and then, at least I would have this memory. My lips brush his gently, ever so softly, knowing how bad it would be if he woke up.

Then I pull back, removing my hand from his face, fingers brushing over soft skin for the last time. Breathe Chloe, breathe. I tap him on the shoulder, "Clark." Nothing, okay fine, once more, whole handed smack to his shoulder, "Clark!" This time he opens his eyes, blinking rapidly as he squints at me. "Chloe?" he says groggily. Seeing the expression on his face I smirk at him. "Hang over Clark? Wow, I hadn't realized our little Miss Lang could bring out the bad boy in you." That last part sounded more cynical than sarcastic, and more bitter than cynical. If I chose to, I knew where the red K was, I could have brought out Kal anytime I wanted to, which was a lot of the time. But I couldn't do that to him, I just couldn't.

He groans in response, running his hands through his hair. I pull the black jewelry box out of my pocket, and hold it out to him. "Here." Such a simple thing to say, 'Here,' after the hell my night has been. "Oh my God thanks Chloe! You're the best!" His face lights up in that hundred watt smile that has begun to make my cheeks hurt. But his eyes light up as well, and I know he's truly thankful for what I did, even if he doesn't know the half of it. I open my mouth to say something, but his eyes are already beginning to drift closed, the box clutched tightly in one hand.

Tears fill my eyes, I can't help it, I'm breaking. "I love you Clark," I whisper, pressing my lips to his forehead. I stand up on shaking legs, trying desperately to control the sobs beginning to wrack my body. Almost running out of the room I trip on the rug, falling. My head slams into the coffee table in the hallway, stunned for a moment, I struggle to get up. Turning, I look at him, "Merry Christmas Clark," I say softly, choking on his name.

Not even bothering to put on my shoes I'm running, out the door, down the driveway. I'm wishing Martha was still here, that she hadn't died last year. She would hold me in her arms and she would understand, she always understood why I loved her son, and why I did the things I did. She would be the mom I never had. But she wasn't here anymore, now no one was left. I couldn't cry into her shoulder and feel her arms, warm and strong around me. There was no comfort left.

Reaching the road, I slip and fall. Curling into a ball, I reach up and touch my forehead, wincing at the pain. My fingers come away sticky with blood. Blood, from my head, staining the snow beneath me. Suddenly I was just too tired, I couldn't move, could barely think.

So why did I do this again? Oh yeah, for him. Clark's smiling face, those baby blue eyes, cross my vision. Oh yeah, for that. Just to see his face when he says thank you. No kiss on the cheek, no hug, not even a merry christmas. Just to see his face lighting up, just to see that smile. I would do anything for him. Anything. I guess some things never change. I gave up everything for him. All for him. Slowly slipping out of conciousness, I realized something. I would do it again.

I would give up everything all over again, I would come out here even knowing what would happen. I would do it again and again, because some things never change. I would love Clark Kent until the world came to an end. And I would love him knowing he would never love me back, because some things never change.

_**so??? wut do u think? does it demand a sequel? but i'm still in the middle of 24 hrs... huh, i dont know, tell me what to do!**_


End file.
